■ Notes: In last season’s opener at Dick Bivins Stadium, Caprock beat Snyder in a 70-57 shootout. Both teams are looking to improve after a tough season. Caprock, which lost seven straight after winning the first three, has to replace some skill players on offense, but looks improved defensively with tackle Tristan Buecker and linebacker Jamere Leonard.

■ Caprock coach Seth Parr: “We want to be physical, then we want to see how we’ve progressed on defense. Offensively we want to see how we run the ball and make catches when we face contact.”

■ Notes: Randall will look different from last year after losing so many key players to graduation. The Raiders have lost their leading passer, rusher and receiver, so they may have to lean heavily on their defense until their offense gets untracked. Senior middle linebacker Garrett Ince will be the defensive leader this season for Randall.

■ Randall coach Bryan Wood: “We’re just lacking a lot of experience at the skill positions. There’s a lot of kids who haven’t played on Friday night. One of the things I tell them every day is to get better every day than the day before.”

■ Notes: Canyon will be the first team outside of Lubbock to play at the renovated Lowrey Field. The Eagles, though, won’t look a whole lot different from last season as they return 28 letterwinners. Versatile quarterback Blake Weaver will lead the offense while linebacker Dylan Douglass, a second-team all-state pick, leads the defense.

■ Canyon coach Blake Bryant: “We constantly talk about not worrying about who we’re playing or where we’re playing and just take care of us. I think our juniors and seniors aren’t bothered about the situation (opening on the road).”

■ Notes: Last year, the Sandies opened the season by routing Odessa, 56-15, on the road, but both teams will look a little different this season. Amarillo High lost several starters from last year’s team while the Bronchos return more talent. Defense should be Amarillo High’s strength early, led by nose guard Hunter Floury and safety Braden Marusak.

■ Amarillo High coach Mel Maxfield: “That’s what your nondistrict schedules are for, to establish determining depth. History tells you that the starting lineup in game one isn’t necessarily going to be the same as in game five.”

■ Notes: This marks the sixth consecutive year Canadian and River Road have opened the season against each other. Canadian holds a 5-0 record against River Road in those games. ... This will be the River Road coaching debut of Phillip Wiggins. Wiggins coached at Vega last year. ... Canadian was popular with preseason publications. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football picked the Wildcats to reach the Class 2A Division II state finals. The Harris ratings has Canadian ranked No. 3. ... River Road senior kicker Matt Marrs had quite the unique way to practice during August. He kicked off the roofs of the Amarillo National Bank and United Supermarket off River Road. Marrs has a career long field goal of 48 yards. ... Canadian quarterback Ben Arbuckle threw for 3,679 yards and 45 touchdowns last year and is a Division I prospect.

■ River Road coach Phillip Wiggins: “I’m so blessed to have this opportunity to coach at River Road. I can’t say enough about how hard these kids have worked for us. Canadian is an outstanding team, and I view this game as an opportunity for us to get better. We can’t control what Canadian does. But we can control what we do.”

■ Notes: Bushland will enter the season without junior wide receiver Carson Paetzold, who tore the ACL in his right knee in the first week of practice, but senior quarterback Taylor Cornelius still has weapons in the passing game, including his cousin, Colter Cornelius, who had 310 receiving yards in 2012 and caught six of Taylor Cornelius’ 26 touchdowns. The Falcons will face a Borger team that returns a strong running game with 1,000-yard rushers Kendrick Freeman, a junior, and Dontrae Butler, a senior.

■ Bushland coach Steven Flowers: “They like to run the ball, so we’ve got to stop the run and stop it with just our base defense. We’re still getting better at the basic stuff. My kids are fired up. They’re fresh and ready to go.”

— Jacob Mayer

Highland Park at Vega

■ The game: Highland Park (0-0) at Vega (0-0), 7:30 p.m.

■ Last year’s records: Highland Park 1-9, Vega 3-8.

■ Notes: The Hornets get set to begin their second season under coach Craig Shores. A Highland Park win will match the season win total from a season ago. Vega, a playoff team from a season ago, hopes to get off to a strong start.

■ Highland Park coach Craig Shores: “This is a season that we’ve been anticipating. The excitement is in the air. Everyone is excited on the fall kickoff. It’s always good to get in the Friday night routine and getting the season started. The game with Vega is always a really good game. The first ballgames always seems to come down to who makes the fewest mistakes.”

■ Notes: New San Jacinto Christian head coach Dan Fort, a Florida native, will enter his first game as a high school head football coach in Texas without two of his starting offensive lineman. Juniors Chayce Dement and Alec Martinez will miss the opener because of injuries. The Patriots’ opponent, Claude, also has a new head coach in Michael Widenor, who will bring a roster with just seven seniors into the season.

■ San Jacinto coach Dan Fort: “I’m pumped. I’ve been waiting to see what Texas football is all about. This is it. We’ve had two scrimmages where we competed, but this is for real so I’m excited.”